From dog walking and grocery runs to coordinating PPE donations and assisting with new telehealth initiatives, medical students at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, are volunteering their assistance to support the healthcare workforce, patients and communities in New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As COVID-19 concerns resulted in cancellations of events throughout the state, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School made plans for an alternate, online event that would enable students, faculty and staff—as well as family and friends—to share their joy and “get virtual hugs” of congratulations on their matches.

Philadelphia Eagles Chair and CEO Jeffrey Lurie championed a new signature fundraising event, the Eagles Autism Challenge, to raise funds for innovative autism research and programs. To assist him in these efforts, Lurie appointed a professor of neuroscience and cell biology and pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to serve as the lead scientific advisor.

A new, free mobile app, Baby be Well, helps families keep their infants safe throughout the first year of life. By incorporating activities that encourage frequent return visits, the app provides users with proven guidance of safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Dr. Konstantin Balashov was on board a helicopter that made an emergency landing on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, injuring three people. The only physician on board, he provided urgent medical aid to the injured passengers, preventing a possible severe disability for one.

A nationally recognized Rutgers cardiologist recommends that aspirin be used as primary prevention for cardiovascular disease only with select patients, saying that the scientific evidence is too diverse to support a one-size-fits-all approach.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), on average, there are more than three dozen children dying in parked cars every year. In 2018, that number climbed to 52. Dr. Ernest G. Leva of Rutgers Health suggests creating new routines and reminders to help avoid these tragedies.

It’s estimated that more than 8,000 American children are currently fighting MS. The most common presentations of the disease include visual impairment, transverse myelitis, arm-leg weakness, sensory disturbances, inflammation of the spinal cord, or balance problems. And like most diseases, early intervention offers the greatest hope of mitigating patients’ symptoms.
Pediatric neurologist Vikram Bhise, MD, at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has dedicated his career to treating MS and other central demyelinating diseases.
The only dedicated pediatric MS program in the state, Rutgers Health works to provide cutting-edge therapies, patient and family education, and access to clinical trials.

The N.J. Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) has awarded a $385,000 grant to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Division of Addiction Psychiatry to conduct opioid and naloxone trainings for the state’s employment program for individuals affected by the opioid epidemic.

While cigarette use for high school students is at an all-time low (8%), 21% of students in the United States report using e-cigarettes in the past month; the highest level to date. The use of e-cigarettes--or electronic cigarettes often called vaping--has increased tremendously for young people over the past few years, making health care professionals and parents question its potential harm on health. This is unfortunate considering the hope that e-cigarettes could represent a less-harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes for current adult smokers.
Michael Steinberg, MD, MPH, at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, discusses the potential risks of e-cigarettes for teenagers, as well as the benefits for adults undergoing smoking cessation in a video produced by the medical school.

The first step in identifying and treating infertility is often rigorous testing for women. However, only 50 percent of infertility is attributable to the female partner alone, 50 percent of couples have a male factor, according to Nikhil Gupta, MD, assistant professor of surgery. In May 2018, Dr. Gupta became the first andrologist and male sexual function subspecialist appointed to the faculty of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He focuses on the treatment of male infertility, sexual dysfunction, benign prostate hyperplasia (non-cancerous enlarged prostate) and erectile dysfunction.

Dr. P. Ashley Wackym, professor and inaugural chair of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, has been selected by the Prosper Ménière Society as its next Gold Medal Award recipient.

As the nation recognizes Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Ruby Greywoode, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, shares some important information about colorectal cancer and what you can do to reduce your risk.

Global surgery is often referred to as the neglected stepchild of global health, but Gregory Peck, DO, assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is trying to change that through a global surgery fellowship program that unites surgeons and non-surgeons in health systems based research and development.

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the New Jersey Department of Health formalized a partnership that brought a member of the medical school’s faculty in as medical director of the laboratory. The lab oversees clinical diagnostic and surveillance testing; improvement service, which handles inspections and protocol compliance; and testing drinking water and groundwater, as well as handling environmental evaluations of pollutants, toxins, and heavy metals. Te director also supervises the testing of medicinal marijuana.

Julia and Cameron were born with cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited, chronic, progressive disease that affects respiratory and pancreatic function. Both artists and athletes, they refuse to let the disease define their lives, and consider themselves integral partners in the care they receive at the comprehensive Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, one of only three accredited CF centers in New Jersey. In 2016, the CF Center ranked highest nationally and in New Jersey in a composite score for lung function and nutritional status.

Safety, quality, and patient-centric care have long been a passion for Dr. Keith Lewis. After more than 30 years in the Boston area, he brings that passion and an enthusiasm for new program development, collaboration and team-building, and interprofessional education to Rutgers.

With more than 30 million Americans who suffer from type 2 diabetes, prevention is paramount. Many Americans are diagnosed or at risk for prediabetes, a precursor to diabetes. Anupam Ohri, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains how a prediabetes diagnosis does not automatically become diabetes, but can be prevented with lifestyle changes and knowledge of your risk.

The cadavers of military veterans are being used to prepare medics to treat the devastating injuries they will encounter when deployed, through a unique collaboration between Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the United States National Guard.

On August 16, 2017, Rahway resident John Odin was told life-altering news: his wife of 27 years, Frances, had a very poor chance of surviving surgery after multiple brain aneurysms. The previous few days were a blur as Fran, who was previously in good health, suffered an unexpected hemorrhage. However, because of an excellent team of physicians, a dedicated staff and in John’s view, ‘a miracle,’ she survived and has returned to a fully functioning life.

States that expanded eligibility for their Medicaid program in 2014 when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented, saw fewer uninsured patients among major cardiac-related hospitalizations in the first year compared with states that did not expand the program.

In a transformative move that will significantly improve the capacity for neurosurgical services in the state and enhance Rutgers’ and RWJBarnabas Health’s reputation among the top tier of neurosurgical care providers, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Anil Nanda has been appointed joint chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and senior vice president for neurosurgical services at RWJBarnabas Health.

Fred A. Kobylarz, MD, associate professor of family medicine and community health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is an expert in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and offers caregivers and family members information on diagnoses and symptoms, as well how to best improve the quality of life for their family member.

Are you trying to quit smoking in the New Year? According to The Tobacco Dependence Program at Rutgers University, most people who smoke regret having started and want to stop. However, quitting can be hard to do. Rutgers outlines the top ten things smokers and their families should know when going through the quitting smoking process--right in time for New Year’s resolutions.

Rutgers University hosted one of the first Young Women in Bio (YWIB) events in New Jersey Oct. 20 at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Approximately 270 high school women from 18 schools throughout New Jersey attended the event to learn about career options for women in biomedical sciences. It was the largest YWIB event ever held in the United States or Canada.

Offering hope is the ultimate goal of two New Jersey families whose foundation has partnered with the state’s only facility solely dedicated to researching the underlying scientific causes of pediatric illness.

Fifty-one Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty physicians, part of Rutgers Health, were peer selected to the Best Doctors in America® List for 2017-2018. Only 4 percent of physicians in the United States earn this prestigious honor, as a result of the biennial Best Doctors poll.

Scientists are closer to discovering what makes some individuals better able to clear viral infections than others can, thanks to a new study by researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Child Health Institute of New Jersey and the University of Chicago.

The “Paisa” population, native to northwest Colombia, has far greater rates of suicide than average. A consortium of investigators that includes Javier I. Escobar, MD, associate dean for global health and professor of psychiatry and family medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who grew up in this region of Columbia, was recently awarded a $5.5 million research grant to study the relationship between genetics and behavioral disorders in the “Paisa” population. He believes believes a better understanding of the origins of mental illness, which his research seeks to determine, will lead to enhanced and more personalized treatment for patients across the globe.

After two months in a coma, Chris Cahill woke up confused about where he was and what had happened to him. Cahill was found unconscious from unknown trauma resulting in severe injuries to his frontal lobe, with brain swelling so dramatic it was life threatening, explained to Gaurav Gupta, MD. Dr. Gupta performed emergent surgery on Cahill to relieve the brain swelling with the intent of replacing the skull after the swelling subsided. However, the patient’s own skull was infected and as a result was unusable. At that point, Dr. Gupta decided the best solution to replace the missing skull bone was to use 3-D printing to create a custom cranial skull implant.

A study from Rutgers offers evidence that the wait to see a developmental pediatrician averages nearly six months nationally delaying diagnostic evaluations and potential early intervention strategies for children experiencing behavioral, emotional, social and educational struggles.

The Child Health Institute of New Jersey has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which will expand and enhance its core mission to improve children’s health through the scientific study of pediatric illnesses, including asthma, type 1 diabetes and autism.

Researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has found a more accurate test for jaundice, finding that measuring solely for the level of unbound bilirubin rather than total serum bilirubin would more accurately determine the risk of neurotoxicity.

Older baby boomers—those born between 1945 and 1954—are the “stroke-healthiest generation,” according to a Rutgers study that found the lowest incidence of ischemic stroke in this age group within the past 20 years. In contrast, the rate of stroke more than doubled in Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1974, during the same time period.

Most patients who need blood transfusions – including those who are critically ill – can be given blood when their hemoglobin drops to a lower level than practiced traditionally, according to AABB, a national association of blood banks that based its recommendation on research led by Rutgers University.

Jeffrey L. Carson, MD, a Rutgers physician who has championed the movement to use less blood in transfusions has been awarded more than $16.1 million by the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to lead a nation-wide clinical trial aiming to establish evidence that can be used to set transfusion standards for patients who have had a heart attack, to improve their survival rates and reduce the risk of recurrence.

Rutgers researchers discovered that mTOR responds to decreasing levels of nutrients, acting as “traffic control” to help stabilize cells as nutrient intake fluctuates. The study is the first to indicate that mTOR actively participates in the process to restore cell stability when there are not enough nutrients to fuel cell growth.

Each year, the pilgrimage for new school supplies is a given as the summer draws to a close. But one thing you should be sure to include on your back-to-school checklist is a call to the pediatrician to ensure your child’s vaccinations are up to date, Rutgers pediatric specialists say.

Somerset resident Dr. Maria F. Ciminelli, assistant professor of family medicine and community health and program director of the medical school’s Family Medicine Residency Program at CentraState Medical Center, has been named NJ Family Physician of the Year by the NJ Academy of Family Physicians.

Experts at a recent Rutgers/RWJ forum on perinatal and postpartum depression say a change is long overdue, calling for increased awareness among women and clinicians, advocacy, and systemic changes in the approach to collaborative treatment.

Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been elected chair of the Composite Committee, which is the governing board of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) program.

At 31, Somerset resident Shawn Fohs was the picture of good health: fit, with no chronic health conditions, and a reputation of never getting sick. But on Aug. 2, an undiagnosed heart condition nearly cost Fohs his life. Using cardiac ablation, a Rutgers cardiac electrophysiologist helped resolve the underlying problem and save his life.

Significantly more individuals who smoke and have a serious mental illness made a sincere attempt to quit after receiving a single, 45-minute counseling session, compared to those who received an interactive educational intervention. According to a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research by investigators at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.